Richard Viguerie, one of the founders of the modern conservative movement and a direct-mail king of the right, thinks the Senate GOPers are doing a pretty good job at the confirmation hearings of Justice-to-be Sonia Sotomayor. He put out this statement:
Led by Senator Jeff Sessions, Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee are starting to do what the McCain campaign and the Republican Party failed to do in the 2008 election: defining Barack Obama, his ideology, and his unconstitutional, authoritarian approach to governing.
By making the Sotomayor confirmation hearings about President Obama’s governing philosophy—including his beliefs that judges should change constitutional principles and the law—Senate Republicans are showing that Obama’s views are radical and dangerous. As Senator Sessions said at the hearings, those views are so inconsistent with the Constitution that they could be ‘disqualifying’ for Obama’s judicial nominee.
Win, lose, or draw in this confirmation battle, that approach will pay huge dividends for Republicans. Exposing the President in these hearings will help Americans better understand that, constitutionally speaking, Obama cannot be trusted…
So hats off to Senator Sessions and the other Republicans who ‘get it’.
Wow. He really is watching a different channel. How many Americans—of the small percentage of those who have watched the hearings for any extended length of time—are jumping off their couches and saying, “Gee, after seeing Senator John Kyl grill her, I now realize that Obaama is destroying the Constitution and cannot be trusted. Get me my pitchfork!”
I respect Viguerie for constantly putting ideology ahead of partisan loyalty. He blasts the Republicans whenever he thinks they’re squishy. But if he believes the hearing so far has been a net win for the Rs, he’s engaged in observational activism. A strict constructionist reading of the proceedings would score the GOPers as marginally significant at best. They have done nothing to bruise Sotomayor. They have done nothing to make the hearings a noticeable platform for advancing their retro views about the role of judges. I even wonder if the conservative base is following the hearings closely enough to be fired up by whatever Jeff Sessions and the others are doing, as Viguerie suggests. Let’s see if GOP candidates next year run on these hearings. If that’s what Viguerie is hoping for, I’ll bet he’s disappointed.
You can follow David Corn’s postings and media appearances via Twitter.
